A*STAR NMC and MPA Team Receives President’s Technology Award for Transforming Marine Fuel Measurement

A team from A*STAR’s National Metrology Centre and the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has received the 2026 President’s Technology Award for advancing trusted and transparent marine fuel measurement in Singapore and internationally.

The President's Technology Award is part of the President's Science and Technology Awards (PSTA), Singapore's top honours for research scientists and engineers, organised by National Research Foundation (NRF) Singapore.

Award recipients

·       Mr Wu Jian, Programme Director (Connectivity) and Principal Metrologist, A*STAR NMC

·       Dr Yu Shengkai, Senior Principal Scientist, A*STAR NMC

·       Mr Tan Ren Kai, Research Engineer, A*STAR NMC

·       Mr Thomas Ting Cheng Heong, Director (Technology and Innovation) and Chief Digital Officer, MPA

Transforming marine fuel measurement

The President’s Technology Award is part of the President’s Science and Technology Awards, Singapore’s top honours for research scientists and engineers. The awards recognise individuals and teams whose work has made exceptional contributions to Singapore’s research, innovation and enterprise ecosystem.

Singapore handles more than one-sixth of the world’s bunker trade, with approximately 150,000 tonnes of fuel delivered daily. For many years, fuel quantity was determined using a traditional dipstick-based method, which could give rise to disputes between buyers and sellers. To address this challenge, the team led the shift towards mass flow metering, an approach that measures fuel as it flows through a pipeline and provides greater accuracy, transparency and assurance.

The A*STAR NMC team developed the measurement science and engineering solutions needed to ensure reliable fuel measurements under the demanding conditions of ship-to-ship fuel transfer operations. Their work became the scientific foundation of Singapore Standard SS 648 and MPA’s mandatory mass flow metering framework, the first such framework implemented globally. The initiative has since reduced fuel-related disputes by up to 70 per cent and has been adopted internationally through ISO 22192, with ports such as Rotterdam, Fujairah and Ningbo implementing the framework.

As the industry transitioned towards digitalisation, the team continued to innovate. They developed technologies to verify the integrity of digital bunkering records, supporting enhancements to Singapore’s standards framework and enabling the world’s first large-scale mandatory digital bunkering regime, implemented in the Port of Singapore in 2025. This is expected to save the industry close to 40,000 man-days annually.

The team’s success reflects the contributions of partners across government and industry, including MPA and the Singapore Standards Council. It demonstrates how advances in measurement science can strengthen trust, improve operational efficiency and shape international standards.

Recognising innovation with real-world impact

This achievement highlights how sustained research, innovation and collaboration can address industry challenges and create impact in Singapore and internationally.

WATCH how the team’s work helped transform the way marine fuel is measured and verified, strengthening trust in bunkering transactions and contributing to standards adopted internationally.

Video credit: NRF

(The award recipients with President Tharman Shanmugaratnam. Award recipients from left to right: Tan Ren Kai, A*STAR National Metrology Centre, Thomas Ting, Maritime & Port Authority of Singapore, Wu Jian, A*STAR National Metrology Centre, Yu Shengkai, A*STAR National Metrology Centre)

Photo credit: National Research Foundation